Barrier panel device for 3D image reproduction, and method of driving same

Abstract

Provide is a method of driving a barrier panel device. Segment driving voltages are controlled to be applied to a plurality of segments of a first electrode of a barrier panel based on a display direction of an image signal displayed on an image display panel of an apparatus for reproducing a 3D image. An odd barrier driving voltage is controlled to be commonly applied to odd numbered barriers of a plurality of barriers of a second electrode of the barrier panel. An even barrier driving voltage is controlled to be commonly applied to even numbered barriers of the plurality of barriers. The segment driving voltage, the odd barrier driving voltages, and the even barrier driving voltages are synchronized.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A barrier panel device for 3D image reproduction, the barrier panel device comprising:
 a barrier panel, which comprises:
 a first electrode comprising a plurality of segments arranged substantially parallel and adjacent to each other, 
 a second electrode comprising a plurality of barriers arranged substantially parallel to each other and substantially perpendicular to the plurality of segments, wherein the plurality of barriers comprises odd barriers and even barriers arranged between adjacent ones of the odd barriers, and 
 a liquid crystal disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode; 
 
 a segment driving voltage controller, which controls on/off states of segment driving voltages applied to the plurality of segments; and 
 a barrier driving voltage controller, which alternatively and repeatedly applies a barrier driving voltage to the odd barriers, while applying 0V to the even barriers, and applies the barrier driving voltage to the even barriers, while applying 0V to the odd barriers, wherein the on/off states of the segment driving voltages alternate while the on/off states of the barrier driving voltages alternate, and 
 the segment driving voltage controller controls each segment driving voltage to be periodically applied to a corresponding segment, controls a time of changing the on state of the segment driving voltage of predetermined segments to be sequentially delayed from a time of changing the on state of a segment driving voltage of a corresponding adjacent neighboring segment, and controls a time of changing the off state of the segment driving voltage of the predetermined segments to be sequentially delayed from a time of changing the off state of the segment driving voltage of the corresponding adjacent neighboring segment. 
 
     
     
       2. The barrier panel device of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier driving voltage controller controls:
 an odd barrier driving voltage, which is commonly applied to the odd barriers, and an even barrier driving voltage, which is commonly applied to the even barriers, and 
 on/off states of the odd and even barrier driving voltages to be periodically repeated while alternating with each other. 
 
     
     
       3. The barrier panel device of  claim 2 , wherein the barrier driving voltage controller controls the odd and even barrier driving voltages so that the odd barrier driving voltage is in the on state and the even barrier driving voltage is in the off state during a first half cycle of a cycle of the odd and even barrier driving voltages, and
 the odd barrier driving voltage is in the off state and the even barrier driving voltage is in the on state during a second half cycle of the cycle of the odd and even barrier driving voltages, wherein the on state indicates a predetermined anode voltage value and the off state indicates a voltage value of 0V. 
 
     
     
       4. The barrier panel device of  claim 2 , wherein the barrier driving voltage controller controls:
 the odd and even barrier driving voltages so that the on/off states are repeated in a high frequency by applying the odd and even barrier driving voltages in a pulse form, wherein the on state indicates a predetermined anode voltage value and the off state indicates a predetermined cathode voltage value. 
 
     
     
       5. The barrier panel device of  claim 2 , wherein the odd barrier driving voltage, the even barrier driving voltage, and the segment driving voltages are synchronized based on a vertical synchronization signal, the device further comprising:
 a barrier panel controller, which controls the on/off states of the odd barrier driving voltage, the even barrier driving voltage, and the segment driving voltages based on an absolute value of an odd barrier switching driving voltage, being a difference voltage between the odd barrier driving voltage and the segment driving voltage, and an absolute value of an even barrier switching driving voltage, being a difference voltage between the even barrier driving voltage and the segment driving voltage, for each segment to be maintained for one cycle of the vertical synchronization signal while alternating with each other per the vertical synchronization signal cycle. 
 
     
     
       6. The barrier panel device of  claim 1 , wherein the segment driving voltage controller controls:
 each segment driving voltage so that the on/off states of the each segment driving voltage have opposite waveforms during a first half cycle and during a second half cycle of a segment driving voltage cycle, and 
 the segment driving voltage applied to the plurality of the segments so that times of changing the on/off states of the segment driving voltage of predetermined segments are sequentially delayed by a predetermined delay time from a time of changing the on/off states of the segment driving voltage applied to a first segment during the segment driving voltage cycle, wherein the on state indicates a predetermined anode voltage value and the off state indicates a voltage value of 0V. 
 
     
     
       7. The barrier panel device of  claim 1 , wherein the segment driving voltage controller controls:
 the on/off states of the segment driving voltage to be repeated in a high frequency by applying the segment driving voltage in a pulse form, and 
 the segment driving voltage so that times of applying a predetermined segment driving voltage in the on state once to each segment are sequentially shifted by a predetermined delay time during a half cycle of the segment driving voltage, wherein the on state indicates a predetermined anode voltage value and the off state indicates a predetermined cathode voltage value. 
 
     
     
       8. The barrier panel device of  claim 7 , wherein the segment driving voltage controller determines a predetermined delay time of a predetermined segment to be proportional to a time of displaying an actual image for the 3 D image reproduction and a sequence number of the predetermined segment. 
     
     
       9. A method of driving a barrier panel device for reproducing a 3D image, the method comprising:
 controlling on/off states of segment driving voltages each being applied to a plurality of segments of a first electrode of a barrier panel, based on a display direction and a cycle of an image signal being displayed on an image display panel for reproducing the 3D image, wherein the plurality of segments is arranged substantially parallel and adjacent to each other; 
 controlling on/off states of an odd barrier driving voltage, which is commonly applied to odd numbered barriers, and on/off states of an even barrier driving voltage, which is commonly applied to even numbered barriers of a second electrode of the barrier panel which are disposed between adjacent ones of the odd numbered barriers, based on the display direction, wherein the odd barrier driving voltage is applied to the odd numbered barriers, while 0V is applied to the even numbered barriers, and the even barrier driving voltage is applied to the even numbered barriers, while 0V is applied to the odd numbered barriers, alternatively and repeatedly, wherein the even and odd numbered barriers are substantially parallel to each other and perpendicular to the segments; and 
 synchronizing the segment driving voltages, the odd barrier driving voltage, and the even barrier driving voltage, 
 wherein the barrier panel includes a liquid crystal disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, 
 the on/off states of the segment driving voltages alternate while the on/off states of the odd barrier driving voltage alternate and the on/off states of the even barrier driving voltage alternate, and 
 the controlling the segment driving voltages comprises:
 controlling each segment driving voltage to be periodically applied; and 
 controlling the segment driving voltages so that times of changing the on state of the segment driving voltage of predetermined segments is sequentially delayed from a time of changing the on state of the segment driving voltage of a corresponding adjacent neighboring segment, and the times of changing the off state of the segment driving voltage of the predetermined segments is sequentially delayed from a time of changing the off state of the segment driving voltage of the corresponding adjacent neighboring segment. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the controlling the odd and even barrier driving voltages further comprises:
 maintaining the odd barrier driving voltage in the on state and the even barrier driving voltage in the off state during a first half cycle of an odd and even barrier driving voltages cycle; and 
 maintaining the odd barrier driving voltage in the off state and the even barrier driving voltage in the on state during a second half cycle of the odd and even barrier driving voltages cycle, 
 wherein the on state indicates a predetermined anode voltage value and the off state indicates a voltage value of 0V. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the controlling the odd and even barrier driving voltages further comprises:
 controlling the cycle of the odd and even barrier driving voltages to be a quadruple of a vertical synchronization signal cycle; and 
 synchronizing the odd and even barrier driving voltages based on the vertical synchronization signal. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the controlling the odd and even barrier driving voltages comprises:
 controlling the on/off states of the odd and even barrier driving voltages to repeat while alternating with each other in a high frequency based on a vertical synchronization signal, by applying the odd and even barrier driving voltages in an impulse form, wherein the on state indicates a predetermined anode voltage value and the off state indicates a predetermined cathode voltage value. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the controlling each segment driving voltage to be periodically applied comprises controlling the on/off states of the segment driving voltage applied to a predetermined segment to have opposite waveforms during a first half cycle and a second half cycle of a segment driving voltage cycle, and 
 the controlling the segment driving voltages so that times of changing the on/off states of a segment driving voltage of a predetermined segment are sequentially delayed from a time of changing the on/off states of a segment driving voltage of a neighboring segment comprises controlling the segment driving voltage applied to the plurality of the segments so that times of changing the on/off states of the segment driving voltage are sequentially delayed by a predetermined delay time from a time of changing the on/off states of the segment driving voltage applied to a first segment during the segment driving voltage cycle, and 
 wherein the on state indicates a predetermined anode voltage value and the off state indicates a voltage value of 0V. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the controlling each segment driving voltage to be periodically applied further comprises controlling the segment driving voltage cycle to be equal to a quadruple of a vertical synchronization signal cycle, and 
 the controlling the segment driving voltages so that times of changing the on/off states of a segment driving voltage of a predetermined segment are sequentially delayed from a time of changing the on/off states of a segment driving voltage of a neighboring segment further comprises synchronizing each segment driving voltage based on a vertical synchronization signal. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the controlling each segment driving voltage to be periodically applied comprises controlling the on/off states of the segment driving voltage to be repeated in a high frequency by applying the segment driving voltage in an impulse form, and 
 the controlling the segment driving voltages so that times of changing the on/off states of a segment driving voltage of a predetermined segment are sequentially delayed from a time of changing the on/off states of a segment driving voltage of a neighboring segment comprises controlling the segment driving voltage so that times of applying a predetermined segment driving voltage in an on state once to each segment are sequentially shifted by a predetermined delay time during a segment driving voltage cycle, and 
 wherein the on state indicates a predetermined anode voltage value and the off state indicates a predetermined cathode voltage value. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the controlling each segment driving voltage to be periodically applied further comprises controlling the segment driving voltage cycle to be equal to two vertical synchronization signal cycles, and
 the controlling the segment driving voltages so that times of changing the on/off states of a segment driving voltage of a predetermined segment are sequentially delayed from a time of changing the on/off states of a segment driving voltage of a neighboring segment further comprises synchronizing each segment driving voltage based on the vertical synchronization signal. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the synchronizing the segment driving voltages comprises synchronizing the odd barrier driving voltage, the even barrier driving voltage, and the segment driving voltages based on a vertical synchronization signal, the method further comprising:
 controlling the on/off states of the odd barrier driving voltage, the even barrier driving voltage, and the segment driving voltages based on an absolute value of an odd barrier switching driving voltage, being a difference voltage between the odd barrier driving voltage and the segment driving voltage, and an absolute value of an even barrier switching driving voltage, being a difference voltage between the even barrier driving voltage and the segment driving voltage, for each segment to be maintained for one cycle of the vertical synchronization signal while alternating with each other per the vertical synchronization signal cycle. 
 
     
     
       18. An apparatus for reproducing a 3D image, the apparatus comprising:
 a light source; 
 an image display panel for displaying an image signal; 
 a barrier panel comprising:
 a first electrode which comprises a plurality of segments arranged substantially parallel and adjacent to each other, 
 a second electrode which comprises a plurality of barriers substantially parallel to each other and substantially perpendicular to the segments, wherein the plurality of barriers comprises odd barriers and even barriers arranged between adjacent ones of the odd barriers, and 
 a liquid crystal which is disposed between the first electrode and second electrode; and 
 
 a switching driving voltage controller which controls on/off states of driving voltages applied to the first and second electrodes based on a display direction and a cycle of the displayed image signal, 
 wherein the on/off states of the driving voltages applied to the first electrode alternate while the on/off states of the driving voltages applied to the second electrode alternate, and 
 the switching driving voltage controller comprises: 
 a first electrode driving voltage controller, which controls segment driving voltages to be applied to the plurality of segments, for each segment driving voltage to be periodically applied to a corresponding segment, and controls times of changing an on state of the segment driving voltage of predetermined segments to be sequentially delayed from a time of changing the on state of a segment driving voltage of a corresponding adjacent neighboring segment, and controls times of changing the off state of the segment driving voltage of the predetermined segments to be sequentially delayed from a time of changing the off state of the segment driving voltage of the corresponding adjacent neighboring segment; and 
 a second electrode driving voltage controller which, alternatively and repeatedly, applies a barrier driving voltage to the odd barriers, while applying 0V to the even barriers, and applies the barrier driving voltage to the even barriers, while applying 0V to the odd barriers. 
 
     
     
       19. The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the switching driving voltage controller:
 controls the on/off states of the driving voltages applied to the first and second electrodes based on an absolute value of an odd barrier switching driving voltage, being a difference voltage between an odd barrier driving voltage commonly applied to odd number barriers of the plurality of barriers and the segment driving voltage applied to the plurality of segments, and an absolute value of an even barrier switching driving voltage, being a difference voltage between an even barrier driving voltage commonly applied to even number barriers of the plurality of barriers and the segment driving voltage, to be maintained for one cycle of a vertical synchronization signal while alternating with each other per the vertical synchronization signal cycle, and 
 synchronizes the odd barrier driving voltage, the even barrier driving voltage, and the segment driving voltage based on the vertical synchronization signal. 
 
     
     
       20. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program, which program, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to execute a method of driving a barrier panel for 3D image reproduction, the method comprising:
 controlling on/off states of segment driving voltages each being applied to corresponding segments of a first electrode of a barrier panel based on a display direction and a cycle of an image signal being displayed on an image display panel which reproduces a 3D image, the segments being arranged substantially parallel and adjacent to one another; 
 controlling on/off states of an odd barrier driving voltage, which is commonly applied to odd numbered barriers, and on/off states of an even barrier driving voltage, which is commonly applied to even numbered barriers based on the display direction, the odd and even numbered barriers being disposed at a second electrode of the barrier panel substantially parallel to one another and substantially perpendicular to the segments, wherein the even numbered barriers are arranged between adjacent ones of the odd numbered barriers, and the odd barrier driving voltage is applied to the odd numbered barriers, while 0V is applied to the even numbered barriers, and the even barrier driving voltage is applied to the even numbered barriers, while 0V is applied to the odd numbered barriers, alternatively and repeatedly; 
 synchronizing the segment driving voltages, the odd barrier driving voltage, and the even barrier driving voltage; and 
 controlling the on/off states of the odd barrier driving voltage, the even barrier driving voltage, and the segment driving voltages based on an absolute value of an odd barrier switching driving voltage, being a difference voltage between the odd barrier driving voltage and the segment driving voltage, and an absolute value of an even barrier switching driving voltage, being a difference voltage between the even barrier driving voltage and the segment driving voltage, for each segment to be maintained for one cycle of the vertical synchronization signal while alternating with each other per the vertical synchronization signal cycle, 
 wherein the barrier panel includes a liquid crystal disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, 
 the on/off states of the segment driving voltages alternate while the on/off states of the odd barrier driving voltage alternate and the on/off states of the even barrier driving voltage alternate, and 
 the controlling the segment driving voltages comprises:
 controlling each segment driving voltage to be periodically applied, and 
 controlling the segment driving voltages so that times of changing the on state of the segment driving voltage of predetermined segments is sequentially delayed from a time of changing the on state of the segment driving voltage of a corresponding adjacent neighboring segment, and the times of changing the off state of the segment driving voltage of the predetermined segments is sequentially delayed from a time of changing the off state of the segment driving voltage of the corresponding adjacent neighboring segment.